What is a Progressive Jackpot?

A progressive jackpot is when a pool of winnings is gathered together by a casino taking a percentage of every real-money wager made on a specific game or games. The percentage sum taken from each wager is described as the “jackpot meter”. Quite often, a player will only be eligible for winning a progressive jackpot by stacking the max bet permitted.

What Are Fixed and Sliding Jackpots?

The concept of a progressive jackpot is not exclusive to slot games, with table games and online bingo also utilising this mechanism. In progressive jackpot slots, these are almost always defined as fixed jackpots, whereas sliding jackpot can be commonly found in bingo games, but how do they compare?

Fixed Jackpots

The concept here is that a jackpot progressively increases, driven by the meter that acquires a portion of every real-money wager. The entire mechanism is fixed and the jackpot shall not decrease until being won by a player.

Sliding Jackpots

By comparison, a sliding jackpot is one that begins at a certain value and will progressively decrease until being won. The aim of this concept is stimulate early interest among players who are trying to win the highest possible jackpot that they can. This is much more common in bingo games, with players challenged to win using the lowest number of balls.

Can I Play for Free?

The short answer is overwhelmingly no. Even if players do find an obscure opportunity for playing a progressive jackpot slot for free, they are almost always going to be excluded from winning the jackpot. A progressive jackpot is reliant on real-money wagering to operate, whereas bonus funds and free spins directly contravene this type of mechanism.

Does Bet Size Matter?

There are times when bet size will matter, but there are slots where this will be less important. Here are the instances to look for:

· Max bet: Progressive slots of this variety will ask that players stake the maximum bet if they wish to be eligible for the overall jackpot.

· Random jackpots: In these random pots, a player will always be eligible with a cash bet. However, they can often improve their chances by raising the bet.

When Does the Jackpot Drop?

A sliding jackpot is one that is provided by the casino, whereas truly progressive slots are created by players. Therefore, it would be a very underhanded act if casino sites where to start decreasing these jackpots after time. If you do encounter progressive slots where the jackpots decrease, then you are better off finding one that does not.

What Types of Progressive Jackpots Exist?

These jackpots can exist as different variations, with the games, casinos, software providers, and network operators all having an impact on how the pots function.

Wide Area

These jackpots are the largest can be attached to a slot or series of slots across every casino site that offers them. Wide area jackpots are the most difficult to win.

Standalone

A standalone progressive machine features a jackpot that is not linked or connected to other games. These were the first type of progressive slots and were playable at land-based gambling venues.

Linked

A casino site can link together a group of slot machines to create an even larger progressive jackpot than would be available on standalone slots.

Proprietary/In-house

Some casino sites maintain their own exclusive progressive jackpot that can only be won at their venue, as opposed to sites on a wider network.

Random

A random progressive is one that doesn’t have an exact requirement for players to win. Chances can only be improved through laying down larger wagers.

Does RTP Affect Winnings?

RTP is the return to player percentage that is mathematically used to randomly determine how much players can win from a game over a long period of time. The RTP on a standard slot is more likely to reach a generous level like 96.00%, whereas progressive jackpot developers have greater freedom to lower the RTP to 88.00% if they wish.

Are There Ts&Cs to Consider?

Progressive jackpots can increase to such a large scale that casino operators feel the need to implement terms and conditions, but what should you watch out for?

· Winnings given in instalments: For a multimillion-pound pot, you will find that the winnings are awarded over time in instalments. This mechanism works similar to when people win the top prizes in lotteries.